1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally concerned with a device for terminating a stay onto a structure, the device comprising a so-called "chain plate" adapted to cooperate with stay retaining means and means for transferring force from the chain plate to the structure.
The present invention is more particularly directed to the application of a device of this kind to staying the mast of a sailboat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In known devices the chain plate comprises a plate to be fixed to the deck of the boat onto which are mounted numerous apertured plates. The shroud retaining means comprise shackle and retaining bolt devices and the force transfer means comprise one or more ties attached to the chain plate at a first end and comprising at their other end a shackle which is bolted onto a framework fast with the hull of the boat.
The chain plate is placed on and screwed to the deck by means of a backing plate disposed under the deck, which is therefore gripped between this backing plate and the chain plate. The forces in the shrouds are transmitted to the chain plate by the shackles attaching the shrouds and these forces are then transmitted to the hull by the tie or ties.
This structure is generally satisfactory. However, it has various disadvantages in use that the present invention proposes to remedy.
First of all, the shrouds are attached to the chain plate by shackle and retaining bolt devices; these are relatively time-consuming to fit and are particularly unesthetic. A specific object of the present invention is to avoid attaching the shrouds to the chain plate by means of shackles and retaining bolts.
Also, the tie is welded to the chain plate at its first end. Apart from the fact that this is costly in terms of manufacturing time, it has been observed on various occasions that these welds can be somewhat weak. Rupture of the weld could have serious disadvantages in that the forces in the shrouds would no longer be taken by the tie and the shrouds concerned would only be retained by the bolts fixing the chain plate to the deck. The forces communicated to the shrouds by the rigging are such that the attachment of the chain plate to the deck by these bolts is insufficient, with the attendant risk that the assembly could break, leading to loss of the mast.
Another disadvantage results from the fact that as the tie is welded to the chain plate the angle between the tie and the plate which supports the chain plate is fixed, which prevents any subsequent displacement unless a universal joint is incorporated into the assembly. The same applies to the plates to which the shroud shackles are fixed, their geometry being fixed so that if for one reason or another the planes in which the shackles are fitted are not oriented along the axes of the shrouds concerned it is necessary to incorporate a device equivalent to a universal joint.
To avoid this, boatbuilders are obliged to provide as many chain plates as boats, which is hardly advantageous from the cost point of view.
Attention has therefore been directed to designing a device enabling displacement of the ties or shrouds relative to the chain plate so that it can be used on various type boats.